The Corbyn Effect

Labour's performance in the June 2017 General Election came as a surprise to almost everyone. Few, from the most committed supporters of Jeremy Corbyn to seasoned political commentators, expected the Labour vote share to rise so dramatically and seats to be won with such substantial swings.

The Corbyn Effect is the first serious attempt to understand this exciting new phenomenon in British politics. In specially-commissioned essays, writers, academics and activists from across political generations explore the meaning, limitations and potential of Corbynism. How has Corbyn changed the Labour Party? Is his support inside and outside the party likely to last? What can we expect a Corbyn government to achieve?

It was previously widely accepted as fact that a left-wing Labour leader could enjoy popular support from the party membership, but not from the voting public. And it was also previously assumed that this electorate was too wedded to the appeal of an austerity-driven, low-tax economy and small state, to vote for left-wing policies. The Corbyn Effect offers a careful and original analysis of the new shifts in this system of ideas.

Mark Perryman is a writer and regular media commentator on Englishness and football, and a research fellow in sport and leisure culture at the University of Brighton. He is the convenor of the LondonEngland Fans supporters' group, co-founder of Philosophy Football, and author of a number of books, including Ingerland: Travels with a Football Nation and (as editor) The Blair Agenda.